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Editor-in-chief: Johanna Salomaa-Valkamo

Editor: Päivi Jokiniemi

Editorial

In a diverse career spanning 42 years, the end of Andreas Herdina's term as one of ECHA’s senior management is a clear milestone in his life. As he heads towards retirement from active service, he is leaving ECHA at a time of change.

Lead shot has been widely used for decades in hunting and sports shooting. Yet, we know that lead has toxic effects on ecosystems and wildlife. This is why the EU is looking into restricting its use in wetlands in the near future. ECHA Newsletter explains the background.

In July 2018, the Netherlands submitted a proposal to ECHA recommending to lower the legal concentration limits under REACH for eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) found in granules and mulches. These granules and mulches are commonly used on sports pitches and in playgrounds, but there is a concern that they contain chemicals (such as PAHs) that may cause health risks.

Despite increasing amounts of nanomaterials in products on the EU market, not enough is known about their hazards to adequately assess and control their risks. To bridge this knowledge gap, the REACH annexes that specify what information is required from companies placing chemicals on the market have been revised, legally obliging industry to also provide data for substances in nanoform. If adopted, the new changes will enter into force in January 2020. Jenny Holmqvist, ECHA’s coordinator for nanomaterials, shares her views on how companies can prepare.

CLP

An upcoming poison centres notification portal will offer an easy-to-use and secure way for industry to prepare and submit information, in a recently released harmonised format, to appointed bodies in different Member States. Here’s what you need to know to start preparing.

Biocides

Union authorisation was introduced by the EU’s Biocidal Products Regulation in 2013. It allows companies to place their biocidal products on the entire EU market, without needing to get specific national authorisations. The first biocidal products are now expected to be granted access to the EU market. We talked with Isabelle Demoment from Kersia Group and Gosia Oledzka from Ecolab, which were among the first companies to opt for Union authorisation.

The Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management (SAICM) aims to ensure the sound management of chemicals worldwide so that, by 2020, chemicals will be produced and used in ways that minimise adverse impacts on the environment and human health. We spoke to Mr Jacob Duer, Chief of the Chemicals and Health Branch of UN Environment, to ask how SAICM’s ambitions can be achieved and what challenges developing countries face when setting up chemicals management systems.